The School That Bears Marilyn Hampton’s Name

A reading edition of Corey’s original episode, lightly edited for readability. Listen to the story →

I came across a story out of Texas this week that I just had to share. You know how many schools are usually named after somebody important, maybe a former superintendent or someone who donated a lot of money? Well, the Aubrey School District in Texas just announced that they're naming their newest elementary school after a woman who spent almost 40 years cleaning their buildings. Her name is Marilyn Hampton, and I have a feeling she's the kind of person you'd enjoy sitting down and visiting with.

Marilyn started working for this district back in 1983. At the time, she was their only custodian, and she ended up staying for 39 years. Now I've never been responsible for cleaning in elementary school, but I've raised enough kids to have a pretty good idea of what she was up against. And apparently, Marilyn did a whole lot more than mop floors.

She got to know the kids over the years, and when she found out some of them didn't have school supplies they needed. She'd go out and buy them herself. She'd also spend time helping some of those kids who were having a hard time with their schoolwork. I can imagine there were quite a few children who looked forward to seeing Marilyn every day.

She retired from her custodial position in 2022. Although retirement apparently didn't suit her very well, she's 76 now, and she still works with little ones at the district's early childhood learning center. Recently, the school board invited Marilyn to one of their meetings, and during the meeting, the superintendent asked her to come forward and help unroll a red carpet. Now I don't know whose idea that was, but you've got to appreciate the humor in asking a woman who spent nearly four decades taking care of school buildings to handle the carpet at her own surprise ceremony.

Anyway, Marilyn starts unrolling it, and as the carpet opens, she sees something written across it. Marilyn Hampton Elementary School. Can you imagine? She thought she was helping with some sort of presentation, and suddenly she's looking at her own name on a school.

Marilyn was overwhelmed, she started crying, and before long, she was hugging the people who had helped arrange the surprise. But there's a little more to this story that makes it especially touching. Marilyn grew up in a family of eight kids. She was the only one of her siblings to graduate from high school.

And she'd always regretted that she'd never had the opportunity to attend college. For a long time, she felt like maybe she hadn't accomplished as much as she should have. And I find that remarkable. Here's a woman who spent nearly four decades caring about the children in her community.

And she didn't seem to realize just how much she'd meant to them. Now, when the new elementary school opens next August, Her name will be right there on the building. And I suspect there'll be some former students who will drive past that school and remember the woman who used to take care of them when they were little. Marilyn, by the way, had one request after finding out about the honor.

She told everyone they'd better keep that new school clean because she'd be watching. I got a kick out of that. After thirty-nine years, I suppose some habits are pretty hard to break. What I especially enjoyed about this story is that the school district could have named that building after any number of prominent people.

Instead, they chose someone who spent most of her working life doing a job that doesn't get much recognition. And judging by the reaction to the announcement, I'd say they made a pretty good choice. Marilyn, if you ever happened to hear this, congratulations. And I hope those kids appreciate having a school named after you.

Although if I were one of them, I'd probably think twice before leaving a mess in the cafeteria. I'm Corey Moser, and that's something good Sunday.